Sunday, July 1, 2007

A lot has happened in the World of Warcraft since I last wrote. So lets get started. I hope you're all comfortable and used the restroom recently. I'm not pulling over until we get there.

It took the better part of a month, but I finally leveled my paladin to 70. Starting in Hellfire Peninsula at level 58, I also cleared Zangarmarsh, Terrokar Forest, almost all of Nagrand, and a sliver of Blade's Edge Mountains before I heard my final "ding." I celebrated by immediately by hightailing (what does that really mean?) it to the gryphon vendor to purchase my flying mount. Thanks to my beautiful wife for disuading me from buying the ugly onyx gryphon that everyone else seems so enamored with.

One thing I've done that I didn't do a lot of before is run various instances. The Outlands instances are so much better designed so it doesn't take forever to work through them. I've tackled Hellfire Ramparts, the Blood Furnace, and the Underbog several times. I also made it through Sethekk Halls twice and got my Shadow Labyrinth key. I also took unsuccessful runs at Mana-Tombs and Slave Pens, but I'm sure I'll be back for them.

I'm kind of sad that I'm not earning experience points anymore. Hitting max level is most obvious goal in the game. Having that carrot removed has left me adrift. This means I have entered the end game, where my goals are my own and if I'm not having fun, it's my own damn fault. Thankfully there are plenty of goals I can strive for.

My primary goal is complete all the quests in Blade's Edge, Netherstorm, and Shadowmoon Valley. That is a lot to do, with a lot of money and new equipment to earn. Once you hit level 70, there is no other way to improve your character than through equipment upgrades, so there is still a little bit of carrot out there. It's just broken into fairly small pieces and scattered all over the map.

I also want to run the heroic instances and eventually, Karazhan. I was so excited to learn that this was the long term goal of this guild too. (Can you imagine me excited? It doesn't look much different than my other moods.) This is the longest of the long-term goals. Until then, there is plenty else to do.

One goal that was decided for me was that I needed to craft a Breastplate of Kings, the first epic quality blacksmithing armor. After getting the recipe, I mentioned in guild chat that I was interested in building one for myself sometime. My friend, Mesia, decided that the right time was now. I'm actually a fair bit along toward getting it now, which is nice. Just a few more primals to go.

Along this line, I want to max out my various professional skills. Mining was easy, and I had first aid done before leaving Hellfire. Cooking isn't that hard, but the high end recipes are a pain to get ingredients for. Blacksmithing just needs lots and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of ore to make the engine run. Only 25 more points to go on that. The tough one will be fishing. Even with the shorter guaranteed timer, you still have to take time out from everything else you're doing and dedicate your time to fishing. And it's the only profession that makes you switch equipment to use. Such a pain, but I will do it. Eventually. Maybe.

So I'm still moving along and having fun. Time to get back to the quest.